Category: business

US Job Growth Turns Up

Posted on by Scott Hodges
US job growth was on a major upturn in June as there was a boost in hiring. The first quarter showed a lull and now the economy looks like it’s heading back up. The Federal Reserve will probably not raise interest rates soon.
Payrolls in the nonfarm sector increased by 287,000 jobs last month. This is the largest gain we’ve seen since last October according to the Labor Department. These signs of strength came, however, before the Brexit vote on June 23, raising fears that these great advances may not continue.
As Millan Mulraine, the deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York said, “For the Fed, this report is likely to offer some encouragement on the underlying labor market backdrop, though it is unlikely to change the current ‘wait and see’ policy stance as they assess the fallout from the Brexit vote.”

A Major Purchase: Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn

Posted on by Scott Hodges

Hang on to your hat, because Microsoft Corp. is heading towards buying LinkedIn Corp for $26.2 billion. The combination allows for software like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to connect with LinkedIn’s 433 million professionals. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on a conference call with analysts, “LinkedIn and Microsoft really share a mission…There is no better way to realize that mission than to connect the world’s professionals.”

As Forrester analyst Ted Schader said, “It’s a massive growth play for Microsoft.”

LinkedIn makes most of its $3 billion in annual revenue from job hunters and from recruiters who pay a monthly fee in order to post resumes and connect with people.

Gains in Single-Family Home Sales Across the US

Posted on by Scott Hodges

In great news, new US single-family home sales have had their biggest gain in 24 years with the April numbers. As the report from the Commerce Department shows, there is also a surge in new home prices.

As Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York said, “Consumers are taking the leap and buying the biggest of big ticket items of their lives and this speaks to confidence. The Federal Reserve can raise rates at their June meeting without fear the economy is going to slow.”

The new home sales went up by 16.6% to an annual rate of 619,000 units. This is the highest level that it’s been since January of 2008 and the percent increase was the most since January of 1992.

The only exception was in the Midwest where new home sales did not increase broadly.

Learn more about these developments and get the full story here.

Merging Communication Companies

Posted on by Scott Hodges
Friday, the US Federal Communications Commission confirmed that they have voted to approve the acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks by Charter Communication Inc. This would create the second-largest broadband provide and the third-largest video provider. It’s now waiting for approval from regulators in California. That decision is expected at a May 12 hearing.

As Tom Rutledge, the president and chief executive of Charter said on Friday, the transactions will have “significant benefits.”

Friday, the FCC said in a statement that an  “order detailing the commission’s reasoning and the conditions will be issued in the coming days.”

Read the whole article and learn more.

What are the Most Expensive Cities in the US for Renters?

Posted on by Scott Hodges

It’s always helpful to have ideas about where NOT to move as much as you want ideas about where to move. Zumper, a residential real-estate rental website can offer some insights after releasing their National Rent Report. Analyzing one million active one and two bedroom listings across the US, they help you to know what the most expensive cities are.

It should come as little surprise that the top ten most expensive rental markets, in order were: San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Oakland, San Jose, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Seattle.

Some of the notable changes for March were interesting. The rentals that increased the most for March were in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. Three that went down on the list were in Atlanta; Louisville, Kentucky and El Paso, Texas.

Who Will Buy the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.?

Posted on by Scott Hodges

This is a situation worth watching. China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. has raised its offer to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. It now stands at almost $14 billion. The bidding war for Starwood has on the one side Marriot, and their desire to create the world’s largest lodging company. It has, on the other side, Anbang’s desire to have a large portfolio of US real estate assets.

Should Anbang win, it would be the largest ever acquisition by a Chinese company in the US. A vote for Starwood shareholders to approve of the Marriott deal is scheduled for April 8. At the moment, as it stands, Anbang has offered $82.75 per share in cash while Marriott has offered about $78 per share. 

As Marriott said in a statement, 

“Starwood stockholders should give serious consideration to the question of whether the Anbang-led consortium will be able to close the proposed transaction, with a particular focus on the certainty of the consortium’s financing and the timing of any required regulatory approvals.” 

Time will tell what happens.

Economy Looking Up Says the Labor Department

Posted on by Scott Hodges
Here’s some good news for the US economy. US employment gains grew in February with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 242,000 jobs last month. The Labor Department also said on Friday that 30,000 jobs were added in December and January than had been reported previously.  The unemployment rate remained steady at an eight year low of 4.9%. As Scott Anderson, the chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco said,

“Despite panic on Wall Street about impending recession, Main Street goes about its business as usual. This report will get the Fed’s attention, and raises the odds of another rate hike before too long.”

The only downside in the report was a $.03 drop in average hourly earnings, which they believe can be attributed to low-paying retail and restaurant jobs.


Read the full report to see all of the coverage.

Samsung and LG Unveil New Products

Posted on by Scott Hodges

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc have recently unveiled devices, trying to keep up in the smartphone market. As an attempt to recapture their market shares, Samsung has launched two versions of its Galaxy S smartphones. They even brought in Mark Zuckerberg for a surprise appearance to show the potential of virtual reality.

LG, which has lost money in the last year from its mobile business, introduced a modular design for its new G5 smartphones. now, users can replace or upgrade functions like the camera and audio independently. It also showcased a virtual reality headset and accessories which include a drone controller to go with the G5.

As Seoul-based HDC Asset Management fund manager Park Jung-hoon said, “I think it’s possible for LG’s mobile business to recover on its new product launch, since they delivered significant changes with the G5. The Galaxy S7, however, doesn’t seem to be creating as much buzz.”

As Bob O’Donnell, president of Technalysis Research, said “The challenge you have got in the smartphone market is breaking through all that sameness. From a design and functionality perspective, everything looks and feels the same. So the challenge is finding things that stick out.”

Viacom Inc. in Deal with Snapchat

Posted on by Scott Hodges

The Wall Street Journal has recently reported that Viacom Inc. is extending its deal with Snapchat to sell advertising on the mobile app’s behalf. The deal is a multi-year one that is expected to be discussed by Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman on Tuesday during their earning calls
Viacom, according to the deal, will have exclusive third-party rights to directly sell advertising that has to do with Snapchat’s content. Viacom has recently changed some of their leadership, appointing Dauman as executive chairman. The appointment has had mixed reviews. SpringOwl Asset Management was disappointed with the decision, while Permanent Portfolio of Family of Funds was happy about it.

Tweeting Their Way Out of Jobs

Posted on by Scott Hodges

Of course, if you work for Twitter and you or your buddies are leaving, chances are you’re going to make that announcement with a tweet. And that’s just what happened when CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted late Sunday night that leadership change is in the air. Dorsey tweeted that four executives are heading out. These include media head Katie Jacobs Stanton, product head Kevin Weil, engineering division Alex Roetter and HR head Brian “Skip” Schipper.

Jason Toff, who heads Twitter’s video streaming service joined the news as well, tweeting that he’s also leaving Twitter to join Google to work on virtual reality.

In October during an earnings conference call, Dorsey spoke about the need for “hiring and investing in talent” and for “bold rethinking.”

Watch for the tweets that introduce the new executives taking over these positions. Certainly, big changes are ahead.